McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
Identity area
Type of entity
Corporate body
Authorized form of name
Deutsche Gesellschaft zu Montreal
Parallel form(s) of name
- German Society of Montreal
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1835-
History
The German Society of Montreal (German: Deutsche Gesellschaft zu Montreal) was founded on April 21, 1835. The original purpose was to be the voice of the German minority in Montreal and to support anyone of German origin living or arriving in Montreal. Lt.-Colonel the Hon. Louis Gugy became its first president (1835-1839).
On June 26, 1864, the several members of the German Society assisted in the rescue efforts of a major train disaster in Belœil/Saint-Hilaire, involving many recently immigrated Germans. The memorial stone was erected by the Society on the Mont-Royal Cemetery to commemorate the 97 victims of this disaster.
In 1872, under the leadership of land surveyor Wilhelm Wagner (President of the German Society from 1867-1870), the German Society was granted one and a half townships in Manitoba with the goal of establishing a German community in that province. In 1874, the project was abandoned due to the inability to attract 100 German families a year to the area.
Wilhelm Christian Munderloh, the President of the German Society from 1873-1877 and 1880-1893, is considered a pioneer of Canadian shipping; he was also a Vice-President of the Montreal Board of Trade and became the first German Consul in Canada.
Today the Society is a non-profit organization with the mission to promote the German language and culture in Montreal and also to promote the health and welfare of Montrealers of all origins. It works closely with the Montreal Alexander von Humboldt Schule and the Montreal Goethe-Institut.
Places
Legal status
In 1865 it was granted the status of a corporation by the Parliament of the Province of Canada.